Mississippi Museum Announces Curious George Programs

The Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson has announced a series of events in conjunction with the “Curious George Saves the Day: The Art of Margret and H.A. Rey.”

The exhibit, which details how the artists behind Curious George fled France just ahead of the Nazis, and how their experience shaped the adventures of the mischievous monkey, opens at the museum on March 3.

On March 6, the museum planned an Evening for Educators from 3 to 5 p.m. The event focuses on how to integrate the museum into the classroom and included a guided tour of the exhibit.

Each month, there is a Look and Learn with Hoot, for four and five year olds and their parents. The program includes hands-on art activities and story time, with a different Curious George book each month. Dates are March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15 and July 20 at 10:30 a.m.

The “Still Curious?” lecture series kicks off on March 27 with Louise Borden, author of “The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey.” She will speak about their 1940 escape and how the Curious George books came to be published.

Brent Funderburk, professor of art at Mississippi State, will present a program on Walter Anderson’s children’s art on April 10.

On May 15, Stuart Rockoff, historian at the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, will speak on the experience of Jewish refugees to the U.S. at the time the Reys emigrated from Europe. The lecture is part of Jewish American Heritage Month.

The lectures conclude on June 19 with Ellen Ruffin and Dee Jones, current and former curators of the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi, discussing how Curious George came to Hattiesburg.

The “Still Curious” lectures are free. There is a cash bar at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6 p.m.

On April 14, there will be a Crossroads Film Festival workshop inspired by the exhibit. On May 5, there will be a Breakfast with George, with special child- and monkey-friendly items. After the 9 a.m. breakfast will be a Monkeying Around with George family day, with activities presented with partners including the Jackson Zoo, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, and the Institute for Southern Jewish Life.